Folly Beach honors two Union soldiers

Two Union soldiers who were buried on Folly Beach in Charleston during the Civil War are being remembered today. The soldiers were members of the 55th Massachusetts Regiment–the second all-African American unit. A forensic artist has designed and created two busts of the two faces of the soldiers, and will display them for all to see at a ceremony today on Folly Beach.

Folly Beach Mayor Tim Goodwin says the town will host a dedication of a historical marker that honors the 55th Massachusetts.

“The man that made these forensic likenesses of these busts are just bringing them for people to look at. We’re not putting them up. Nobody’s paying for them. He’s going to take them home with him,” says Goodwin.

But, Goodwin says the men will still be honored: “It’s a plaque, a historical marker saying these people were found here on Folly Beach.”

The remains of the two men were found by an archaeologist in 1987 on Folly Beach.